Method and means for protecting an earth situs against scour



y 1970 I... A. TURZILLO 3,520,142

METHOD AND MEANS FOR PROTECTING AN EARTH SITUS AGAINST SCOUR Filed March 28, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 y mumm mliv w M L a,

' INVENTOR.

s Lee A. Turzillo Attorneg y 14, 1970 L. A. TURZILLO 3,520,142

METHOD AND MEANS FOR PROTECTING AN EARTH SITUS AGAINST SCOUR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 28, 1968 m m U A e L Attorneq July 14, 1970 L. A. TURZILLO 3,520,142

METHOD AND MEANS FOR PROTECTING AN EARTH SITUS AGAINST SCQUR Filed March 28, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. Lee ATurzlUo Attorneq July 14, 1970 L. A. TURZILLO 3,520,142

METHOD AND MEANS FOR PROTECTING AN EARTH SITUS AGAINST SCOUR Attorneq 3,520,142 METHOD AND MEANS FOR PROTECTING AN EARTH SITUS AGAINST SCOUR Lee A. Turzillo, Bath, Ohio (2078 Glengary Road, Akron, Ohio 44313) Filed Mar. 28, 1968, Ser. No. 716,965 Int. Cl. E02b 3/04 U.S. Cl. 61---38 20 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Method and means for forming protective liner over a substantial surface area of an earth situs by injection of self-hardenable cementitious material into flexible bag means. Stop means on rigid tie elements, extending through bag superposed walls, variable before or during injection to vary expansion of bag for selective control of effective thickness of liner. Extension of tie elements into situs anchors bag walls against lateral movement and maintains adjusted position of stop means. Positioning of anchored tie elements in selectively varied spacing functions to adjust bag means accordion-style, lengthwise and/or widthwise of bag means, to cover a wide range of sizes or extents of surface areas of the situs with use of same given size of bag means.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION This invention relates generally to earth engineering and stabilization of soil utilizing concreting methods, and particularly relates to a method and means for repairing scoured areas, along the sloping bank of a stream, for example, by use of flexible bag means filled by hardenable cementitious material, somewhat as disclosed in- Lee A. Turzillo Patent No. Re. 25,614, dated July 7, 1964. The present invention is for improvements in the methods and means for protecting earth surfaces against scour disclosed in Lee A. Turzillo United States applications, S.N. 617,446, filed Jan. 23, 1967, now Patent No. 3,383,864, and S.N. 611,107, filed Jan. 23, 1967.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, a flexible porous-walled bag of given relatively large size is positioned flatwise upon the surface area of the situs to be protected against scour, and a plurality of rigid anchoring rods are inserted through aligned holes suitably provided in known manner in superposed walls of the bag means, and these rods are anchoringly driven into the earth in selected spacing according to the size and/or shape or contour of the area to be covered. Vertically spaced stop means on at least some of the rods may be selectively adjustable to vary the limit of expansion of the bag walls upon subsequent injection of pressurized, self-hardenable cementitious material into the closed bag. Through controlled spacing of the anchor bars and adjustment of stop means thereon, the expansion of different sections or segments of the bag in all directions so that a bag of given collapsed original size can be preadjusted and inflated to have widely varying overall sizes and shapes covering surface portions of a situs.

An object of the invention is to provide a method of the character described which eliminates the need for providing bags in series of widely differing sizes, and also makes possible the elimination of cutting and sewing bags at the situs t-o fit an area to be protected.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for anchoring the bags at the situs, to prevent dis placement thereof while the same are being inflated by injection of the self-hardenable cementitious material, as well as for controlling the shape of resultant hardened protective liner produced by the method.

United States Patent A further object of the invention is to provide an economical and yet superior substitute for the prior practice of protecting surfaces against scour by use of often hard to obtain fill materials, such as precast slabs, riprap, stones, or gravel, thrown together without order in deep water or on a slope, to prevent erosion.

Other objects of the invention will be manifest from the following brief description and the accompanying drawings.

Of the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a slope or bank of a stream, on which a series of contacting protective liners have been installed by the method of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-section, partly broken away, and on the same scale, as viewed substantially on the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section, greatly enlarged, of the portion in FIGURE 2, at a point where two protective liners are connected.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-section corresponding to FIG. 2, and on the same scale, illustrating an initial phase of the improved method by which collapsed adjoining bag means have been laid fiatwise on a slope to be protected, and anchoring and bag-retaining rods have been driven into the situs in appropriately varied, spaced relationship.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section, taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4, to illustrate reception of an anchoring rod through aligned grommets in superposed walls of the bag means, prior to injection of self-hardenable fluid into the bag means as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding generally to FIG. 4, and illustrating an initial phase of a modified form of the method invention, in which the bag means is made ready for injection of cement mortar.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section, corresponding to the upper portion of FIG. 6, or substantially on the line 77 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged top plan view taken substantially on the line 88 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of the left-hand corner of FIG. 8, but after the bag means has been inflated by injection of self-hardenable fluid.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-section taken substantially on the line 10-10 of FIG. 9.

Referring first to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, there is illustrated a typical installation of a plurality of relatively flat, solid concrete liners 10, 10, aflixed in edge-to-edge relationship upon a sloping bank B of a river or stream to protect the same against damage often cause by scouring by repetitious movement of water. The liners 10 are shown to be permanently affixed in the situs to prevent shifting, by series of spaced, rigid elements, such as rods or stakes 11, 11 anchoringly driven into the earth of the situs E, as Well as being anchoringly aflixed at upper ends thereof to the linear bodies 10. The liner bodies 10 may be of hardened concrete contained in closed bags 12 of porous fabric, such as burlap or other open-weave material, through the pores of which the concrete material has oozed, to form a protective bonding and sealing layer of hardened concrete on the outer surfaces of the bag walls and thereby serving to bond the adjacent bag walls together, as well as serving to bond the liner bodies 10 to the contacted surfaces of the earth situs E. Although the anchored liner bodies 10 are shown to have Widely varying sizes and thicknesses, as in FIGS. 1 to 3, the method of the invention, to be described later, makes it possible to form such liner bodies with use of bags 12 of substantially the same initial sizes.

The method of the invention embodied in FIGS. 1 to 5 is described as follows: 7

First, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the slope B may be prepared to have substantially flat surface areas 14, 14, although the surfaces need not be smooth or in the same planes.

Next, a flexible-walled bag 12, which may be porous fabric, such as burlap, is laid generally flatwise upon a given surface area 14 of situs E, to have a plurality of mating, aperture-defining grommets 15, in superposed separable wall portions of the top and bottom walls 12a and 12b of bag 12. The grommets may be provided in the bag walls at the situs or otherwise, in known manner.

Anchoring rods or stakes 11, 11 are now inserted or provided through the aligned mating grommets 15 in the superposed bag walls 12a and 12b, to have spaced upper and lower stop members or nuts 17 and 17a adjustably aflixed on threaded upper portions 11a of the stakes 11, outwardly of aligned grommets on the upper and lower bag walls 12a and 1211. This step of providing the anchoring rods through the bag also could be accomplished at a point remote from the situs in some instances, but when accomplished at the situs a slit or opening may be temporarily maintained in an edge of the bag, to facilitate alignment of the rods and/ or initial adjustment of the stop nuts 17 and 17a, for purposes to be described.

Although bags may be made to suit at the situs, by use of known sewing or stapling means, the present method lends well to use of formed bags of one of perhaps several standard sizes, such as a bag 30 feet long by feet wide, in flattened condition.

According to the area to be covered in each instance, the rods are now selectively positioned and driven into the situs, to project pointed inner ends thereof into the earth a substantial depth for firmly anchoring the same with the outer ends projecting normal to the surface area 14, as shown in FIG. 4. The selective Spacing of the rods 11 is governed, in use of a given bag size, by the size of the area to be covered thereby and the thickness and functional requirements of the liner body 10. In other words, to attain a liner body 10 of greater thickness the rods 11 may be positioned closer together, with the bag walls 12a and 12b bunched more between series of next adjacent rods, as shown in the lower portion of FIG. 4. When the respective bag or bags 12 are positioned and anchored as described, and the top and bottom stop nuts 17, 17a are adjusted accordingly, any access openings retained in the bags for this purpose are sewn or stapled shut.

Referring again to FIG. 4, fluid hydraulic cement mortar, under pressure, is now pumped or injected through conduit 19 into the respective bag 12 to inflate the same, first to expand the walls 12a and 12b until the grommets 15 move axially on the respective rods 11, into stop engagement with the top and bottom stop nuts 17, 17a of said anchoring rods, and then to expand or bulge areas of the bag walls between series of next adjacent anchoring rods 11, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. Injection is continued until suflicient fluid mortar is exuded through the fabric pores to form layerings thereof on the outer surfaces of the bag adapted to increase the durability of the finished liner body, and also to provide elfective bond between portions of the bag walls and contacted surfaces of the situs and between contacting portions of adjacent bags. If necessary to control the shape of the bag means 12, the exposed outer nuts or stop means 17 of rods 11 may be adjusted from time to time while the injected cement mortar is still fluid. After the respective bag has been fully inflated the cement mortar therein is allowed to harden over a period of time in known manner. I

The process described may be repeated with additional bags 12, with the anchoring rods selectively spaced according to the size of each area to be covered and/or the thickness or weight of concrete body required in 4 each instance, until the total required area of slope B is covered, as shown in FIG. 1.

In some instances, such as on level surface areas of a situs, the extended anchoring portions 11b of the rods 11 (see FIG. 3) may be omitted.

It will be seen by reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 that the method is versatile, a single bag size being selectively variously adjustable to change the size, shape and thickness of the bag means to suit many varying conditions of a situs. The anchoring rods 11 also serve to retain the liner bodies 10 in place indefinitely, and the aforementioned bonding effect of the hardened mortar on the surfaces of the bag means serves as an effective seal against scouring passage of water.

FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate a modified type of concrete liner body 20 for protecting a slope B against scour by a method which requires a minimum of expensive labor to accomplish. For this purpose, reference is first made to FIGS. 6 to 8. The steps of the modified method may include an initial step of laying a closed bag 22 of porous fabric, on a prepared surface 24 of a slope B, as before, with top and bottom grommets 15, of corresponding bag walls 22a and 22b, aligned at each of four corners of the bag. Anchoring rods or stakes 21 are projected through the aligned grommets and are anchoringly driven into the earth of the situs E, as best shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

Next, a square mesh wire grid 25 of rectangular or other suitable shape may be welded or otherwise affixed at each corner thereof to relatively small plates or nuts 26, affixed as by welding to the upper ends of the anchoring rods 22, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8. The rods 22 are selectively driven as described to adjusted spacing of the grid 25 above surface, either to be in parallelism therewith or to have different parts at varying spacing according to requirements for each installation.

When the grid 25 is thus securely affixed on the anchored rods 21, fluid hydraulic cement mortar is pumped into bag 22, through conduit 27, to expand the bag walls between the earth surface 24 and the openwork grid 25. Pumping of mortar may be continued until the upper bag wall 22a is bulged to a substantial extent through the relatively large mesh opening of the grid, and further until a requisite small amount of mortar is oozed through the pores of the bag walls to form bonding and sealing, concrete surface layerings, as before (see FIGS. 9 and 10). At any time while the mortar in bag 22 is still fluid, the anchoring rods 22 may be driven further into the earth to depress the grid further against the bag body and thereby increase the extent of the bulges through the squaremesh openings in the grid, as well as to depress the lower side of the bag body more firmly into the earth and increase the bonding and sealing contact therewith, as shown in FIG. 10. Upon self-hardening of the formed liner body 20, the grid 25 may be retained thereon, or may be removed from the anchoring plates 26 if desired or necessary.

Other modifications in the method and means described may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A method as for protecting a sloping surface area of an earth situs adjacent a waterway against scouring, comprising: mounting flexible walled bag means in unexpanded condition upon the surface area, to have flexible top and bottom walls of the bag means in superposed relation with alignable apertures in separable portions of the superposed walls; projecting a plurality of anchoring elements received through said alignable apertures in separable apertured portions of the superposed bag walls, selectively to anchor the elements in the earth of the situs with stop portions thereon in fixedly spaced relation to corresponding said surface areas; injecting fluid selfhardenable, cementitious material into the bag means to expand said superposed walls to extents determined by given limits of relative movement of said separable portions on the anchored elements governed by engagement of the apertured portions with the fixedly spaced stop portions and by pressure engagement of bottom bag wall portions with the surface area of the situs; and allowing said self-hardenable material to harden in said expanded bag means.

25A method as in claim 1, said extents of relative movement being determined by interengageable stop means on the anchored elements and the bag walls for selectively varying said expansion of said bag means.

3; A method as in claim 1, wherein said anchoring elements are selectively spaced in the area to be covered by the bag means, to contain the bag walls in series of convolutions between series of spaced said anchoring elements, and thereby to conform the size of the collapsed bag means substantially to the size required for coverage of the area to be protected by the expanded bag means.

4. A method as in claim 1, wherein said anchoring elements are selectively spaced in the area to be covered by the bag means, to contain the bag walls in series of convolutions between series of spaced said anchoring elements, and thereby to conform the size of the collapsed bagmeans substantially to the size required for coverage of the area to be protected by the expanded bag means; said given limits of relative movement being determined by stop means on the elements and separable portions for 'selectively variable expansion of said bag means by said injected fluid material.

'5. A method as in claim 1, wherein said anchoring elements are selectively spaced in the area to be covered by the bag means, to contain the bag walls in series of convolutions between series of spaced said anchoring elements, and thereby to conform the size of the collapsed bag means substantially to the size required for coverage of the area to be protected by theexpanded bag means; said given limits of relative movement being determined by stop means on the anchoring elements for selectively variable adjustment of said separable portions and corresponding expansion of said bag means by said injected fluid material; said bag means being of generally porouswalled fabric material permitting a relatively small fraction of said fluid material to ooze through the porous bag walls and to solidify in pressure engagement with other surfaces.

6. A method as in claim 1, wherein said anchoring elements are selectively spaced in the area to be covered by the bag means, to contain the bag walls in series of convolutions between series of spaced said anchoring elements, and thereby to conform the size of the collapsed bag means substantially to the size required for coverage of the area to be protected by the expanded bag means; wherein said spaced anchoring elements are selectively anchored in transversely disposed rows of aligned anchoring elements for forming correspondingly disposed said rows of convolutions.

7. A method as in claim 1, wherein said anchoring elements are selectively spaced in the area to be covered by the bag means, to contain the bag walls in series of convolutions between series of spaced said anchoring elements, and thereby to conform the size of the collapsed bag means substantially to the size required for coverage of the area to be protected by the expanded bag means; wherein said spaced anchoring elements are selectively anchored in angularly disposed rows thereof for forming angularly disposed said series of convolutions; said given limits of movement being determined by interengageable stop means on the elements and the bag walls for selectively variable expansion of said bag means by said injected fluid material.

8. A method as in claim 1, wherein said anchoring elements are selectively spaced in the area to be covered by the bag means, to contain the bag walls in series of convolutions between series of spaced said anchoring elements, and thereby to conform the size of the collapsed bag means substantially to the size required for coverage of the area to be protected by the expanded bag means; wherein said spaced anchoring elements are selectively anchored in angularly disposed rows thereof for forming angularly disposed said formations of convolutions in the bag walls; said stop means being axially relatively adjustable on the elements for selectively variable expansion of said bag means by said injected fluid material; said bag means being of generally porous-walled fabric material permitting a relatively small fraction of said fluid material to ooze through the porous bag walls and to solidify in pressure engagement with other surfaces.

9. A method as in claim 1, said stop portions being a sheet of openwork material affixed to said anchored elements to be in spaced relation above the unexpanded bag means; said injection of the fluid materal being effective to bulge portions of said top wall of the bag means through openings in said sheet.

10. A device as for use in forming a concrete protective liner on a surface area of an earth situs, comprising: a flexible walled bag of substantial broad lateral area, when in collapsed condition with top and bottom walls thereof in freely separable superposed relation; said top and bottom walls having a plurality of separable apertured portions; rigid tie elements extended through aligned apertures of said separable apertured portions; spaced stop means on said rigid tie elements between which the respective separable apertured portions of the superposed bag walls are separately retained; and conduit means on said bag for supplying self-hardenable cementitious material thereto to expand the superposed bag walls toward stop engagement of said apertured portions thereof with the respective said spaced stop means.

11. A device as in claim 10, said rigid tie elements each having at least one said stop means adjustably threaded thereon.

12. A device as for use in forming a concrete protective liner on a surface area of an earth situs, comprising: a flexible walled bag of substantial broad lateral area, when in collapsed condition with top and bottom walls thereof in superposed relation; said top and bottom walls having a plurality of aligned apertures therein; rigid tie elements extended through said aligned apertures; spaced stop means on said tie elements between which the respective apertured portions of the superposed bag walls are retained; and conduit means on said bag for supplying self-hardenable cementitious material thereto to expand the superposed bag walls toward stop engagement of said apertured portions thereof with the respective said spaced stop means, said tie elements each having at least one said stop means adjustably threaded thereon, and at least one said tie element having an extension thereon for anchoring reception in the earth situs.

13. A device as in claim 12, said tie elements being arranged in series thereof dividing the bag into a plurality of bag sections each encompassed by a plurality of tie elements.

14. A device as in claim 10, said tie elements being arranged in series thereof dividing the bag into a plurality of bag sections each encompassed by a plurality of tie elements.

15. A device as in claim 10, said rigid tie elements being arranged in series thereof dividing the bag into a plurality of bag sections each encompassed by a plurality of tie elements; at least portions of said bag walls being of porous fabric to permit out-ward passage of a relatively small percentage of the cementitious material therethrough.

16. A device as in claim 10, the apertures of said apertured portions being defined by reinforcing eyelets through which said tie elements are axially slidable.

17. A method as for protecting sloping surface areas of an earth situs adjacent a waterwa against scouring comprising: mounting flexible-walled bag means in unexpanded condition upon the surface area, to have fiexibe, freey separable top and bottom walls of the bag means in superposed relation including alignable freely separable portions of the superposed walls; projecting a plurality of-anchoring elements received through said alignable freely separable portions of the superposed bag walls, selectively to anchor the elements in the earth of the situs with stop portions thereon in fixedly spaced relation to corresponding said surface areas; injecting fluid selfhardenable, cementitious material into the bag means to expand said superposed walls to extents determined by given limits of relative movement of said separable portions on the anchored elements governed by engagement of apertured portions with the fixedly spaced stop portions and by pressure engagement of bottom bag wall portions with the surface area of the situs; and allowing said self-hardenable material to harden in said expanded bag means as a solid liner of predetermined size and thickness; said anchored elements being selectively spaced in conjunction with the selective locations of said stop portions thereon, selectively to adjust the size and thickness of the solid liner.

18. A method as in claim 17, said stop means being adjustable on the elements for selectively variable expansion of said bag means.

19. A method as in claim 18, wherein the adjustment for said varied expansion is selectively accomplished by threaded connection'of upwardly exposed stop means on said tie elements. Y

20. A methodas in claim 17, said bag means being of generally porous-walled fabric material permitting a'relatively small fraction of said fluid material to ooze through the porous bag walls and to solidify in pressure engagement with other surfaces.

" References Cited:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 8/1922 Great Britain.

JACOB SHAPIRO, Primary Examiner 

